Saving Time and Money at the Grocery Store
In order to ensure that you save as much money and time as possible at the grocery store there are certain rules shoppers should follow. While they might not seem important, small changes in your shopping routine could add up to big savings in the long run.
To begin with, never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You’ll be inclined to purchase whatever is handy and looks good. You might even be tempted to buy things that you don’t normally eat. It’s also easier to impulse-buy when you’re hungry and that carefully planned budget might just go out the window.
Oddly enough, shopping on a full stomach isn’t that great of an idea either. You will still be biased, but this time in a different way. You might find that if you’re full, nothing looks good. If you feel really full, the sight of so much food might even make you sick. It’s best to go in between mealtimes, or to have a quick snack before entering the store.
Don’t shop when you’re in a hurry. Unless you have made a short list, know exactly where the items are located and how much they are going to cost when you get them and you already have this planned out ahead of time, shopping when you’re pressed for time can sometimes cause you to throw things in the cart without thinking about price.
Check your cabinets and refrigerator before you go grocery shopping and plan your meals around what you already have stocked. This seems simple, right? But if you check your pantry and see that you have potatoes, beans, and carrots, add tomato juice to your list and you’ve got homemade vegetable soup! When in doubt, try an online recipe site to get some ideas for easy meals.
The day before you go shopping, pick up a sales paper and see what the current specials are. This can also help you in preparing your shopping list. You might gets ideas for meals that you hadn’t previously thought of.
Buy food that can be spread out over several meals. A package of pasta can be used in several different ways: baked pasta, goulash, or a pasta salad. Likewise, a package of chicken breasts can be frozen and used for many different meals as well: served with rice and cream of mushroom soup, tossed with pineapple for a tropical meal, or even cooked in salsa for a spicy Mexican flavor.
Try to keep a budget when you shop, but leave a plus and minus number for something special. We are all trying to budget as best we can, but there’s no point in having extra money if you never enjoy yourself. So leave some room in the shopping budget for a little something ‘fun.’ As long as you don’t go too far with this philosophy it can work out for the best. After all, if you are constantly telling yourself you can’t having anything then you are more likely to give up on the budget altogether, or at least more often. As a rule try and have your ‘treat’ cost less than the most expensive item on your list.
It might sound simple, but watch the register as your items are being scanned. The people who work the cash registers are humans, too, and they might not know about all of the sales that are going on. It’s wise to watch what is being rung up and to point out any discrepancies. But please, be respectful, too.